AFLW: Latest news and updates ahead of the 2022 season
Adelaide premiership player Deni Varnhagen was back training with teammates after it was revealed she was not yet willing to have the Covid vaccine. SEE THE PICS
AFLW
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFLW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A number of teammates rallied around premiership Crow Deni Varnhagen during an Adelaide training session on Monday just hours after it was revealed she had resisted having the Covid-19 vaccine.
Varnhagen, 28, looked to be in good spirits as she appeared on the track at West Lakes and walked laps.
While on a modified training program, Varnhagen mingled and interacted with teammates during the session.
Catch all the ICC T20 World Cup action live & exclusive to Fox Cricket, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today.
The Advertiser revealed on Monday that Varnhagen, a nurse, had told the Crows she was not yet willing to have the jab.
She is believed to be the only player on Adelaide’s list who has not yet had at least one dose of the vaccine.
Under SA rules it is not mandatory for footballers to be vaccinated.
RELATED: ALL THE LATEST ON CROW DENI VARNHAGEN’S STANCE
MORE: COVID SHOCK AS RICHMOND AFLW PLAYER TESTS POSITIVE
AFLW boss Nicole Livingstone said on Monday the league had done as “much as we can” to educate players about Covid-19.
“But at the end of the day we are still living through a global pandemic and if anybody whether it is AFL, AFLW or any other sport feels like playing a sport in a global pandemic is not for them I have to respect that as well,” Livingstone told SEN.
“Given it is a player from South Australia there is still a little more time to work through that approach for Deni.”
Crows teammate and club great Erin Phillips said she would not push vaccinations on anyone who didn’t want them.
But the premiership captain said she expected the AFL would soon take a “no jab no play” approach.
“I haven’t spoken to Deni about this,” Phillips told Mix 102.3.
“Let’s be clear, everybody has a choice whether they want to be vaccinated or not and whether it is Deni or anyone else in that situation they have a choice.
“I’m assuming in this situation with the AFL it will come to a point where if you are not vaccinated fully you won’t be allowed to play. I’m just assuming.”
The AFL is still finalising its vaccination policy, but players in Victoria are covered by a state government mandate that all essential workers had to have at least one Covid-19 vaccine by Friday, October 15.
Livingstone indicated it was too early to tell how different rules in different states would impact the coming AFLW season, which starts on January 6.
“It will certainly make it much more easier to be an athlete if you are vaccinated,” she said.
“Again, it is up to the athlete to make an informed decision.”
SA premier Steven Marshall said it was a decision for the AFL to determine if Varnhagen should be allowed to travel and play.
“We certainly will be avoiding putting mandatory status on vaccinations outside the national cabinet arrangement,” he said.
SA Health has ruled that medical staff must receive their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination by November 1.
Health Minister Stephen Wade would not be drawn on Varnhagen’s personal situation but said those who chose not be vaccinated in a “high risk environment” such as a hospital were “putting themselves in a situation they would not be able to continue their employment”.
What Phillips, AFLW boss think of un-vaxxed Crow
AFLW boss Nicole Livingstone said the league had done as “much as we can” to advise players about being vaccinated after it was revealed on Monday an Adelaide Crows player was resisting having the Covid-19 jab.
Star teammate Erin Phillips and SA premier Steven Marshall have also weighed in after News Corp revealed two-time premiership Crow Deni Varnhagen had advised the club she has not yet been able to make an informed choice on whether to have the vaccine.
“We’ve done as much as we can in terms of medical advice,” Livingstone told SEN.
“We’ve run information sessions. If a player feels like they need more information we are happy to provide that.
“But at the end of the day we are still living through a global pandemic and if anybody whether it is AFL, AFLW or any other sport feels like playing a sport in a global pandemic is not for them I have to respect that as well.”
Crows AFLW superstar Erin Phillips said she would not push vaccinations on anyone who didn’t want them, but she expected there to be a no jab no play approach by the AFL.
“I haven’t spoken to Deni about this,” Phillips said on her breakfast radio show on Mix 102.3.
“I wouldn’t even know in our team who is vaccinated or not to be honest.
“Let’s be clear, everybody has a choice whether they want to be vaccinated or not and whether it is Deni or anyone else in that situation they have a choice.
“From my point of view it’s the ramifications that come with not being vaccinated.
“I’m assuming in this situation with the AFL it will come to a point where if you are not vaccinated fully you won’t be allowed to play. I’m just assuming.”
Phillips said the Crows had held multiple sessions around the vaccine.
“I’d love anyone in my team to be able to play and if that means they have to be vaccinated well that’s the rule,” she said.
“But no, I’m not going to push anyone who does not want to be vaccinated to be vaccinated.”
Premier Steven Marshall said his “reaction” to news of Vanhargen’s position was that he wanted “every single person” in SA vaccinated against Covid.
“It’s our pathway out of a very difficult situation,” he said.
“When you look at the stats interstate for those people that contract the disease that ultimately end up on ventilators in the ICU, it is really the disease of the unvaccinated.”
SA hit a weekly record 113,515 vaccinations last weekend.
Mr Marshall said it was a decision for the AFL to determine if Vanhargen should be allowed to travel and play.
“We certainly will be avoiding putting mandatory status on vaccinations outside the national cabinet arrangement,” he said.
Health Minister Stephen Wade would not be drawn on Vanhargen’s personal situation but said those who chose not be vaccinated in a “high risk environment” such as a hospital were “putting themselves in a situation they would not be able to continue their employment”.
“Our primary responsibility is to protect those who come to us for care, the last thing that people want when if the come to hospital to get care is to go home with Covid,” he said.
Livingstone said because Varnhagen was based in SA there was still some time to work through the issue ahead of the season beginning in January.
“Given it is a player from South Australia there is still a little more time to work through that approach for Deni as well,” she said.
“I don’t know the intimate details of that but we will support the players as much as we can.
“Look I think with the different borders, and we don’t know what it will look like in January, it will be a wait-and-see approach in terms of borders.
“It will certainly make it much more easier to be an athlete if you are vaccinated. Again it is up to the athlete to make an informed decision.”
Varnhagen is the only member of the Crows’ AFLW squad who has not been either fully, or partially, vaccinated or is about to receive a Covid-19 jab, News Corp understands after talks with multiple people at the club.
Dees Tayla made for Harris’ fresh AFLW start
– Nick Smart
Melbourne AFLW coach Mick Stinear has backed new recruit Tayla Harris to thrive in a new environment after landing at the Demons following a pay dispute at Carlton.
The high-profile forward joined the Demons in June as part of a mega trade involving seven players and five clubs.
It followed a forgettable season in which she finished outside the top 15 in Carlton’s club best-and-fairest.
Demons skipper Daisy Pearce supported the recruitment of the blonde key forward, and Stinear said Harris had fit right into her new AFLW home.
“Tayla’s been quite honest that when Covid hit last year she found that quite challenging and she didn’t have an ideal preparation leading into last season,” he said.
“And we’ve experienced it as well with our players that a change of environment for some players is exactly what they need and it helps get the best out of them.
“We certainly hope that’s the case and the way she’s training and competing at the moment, things are looking really promising.
“She’s a pretty special athlete with a lot of talent and she’s really bought into our program and her role within the team.
“I think her physicality and athleticism up forward and her finishing ability around goal combined with her selfless nature, she’s going to bring something we haven’t had in our forward line before.”
Pre-season training officially starts for the Demons on Thursday, and it’s hoped, internally, Melbourne’s AFL premiership last month might rub off on the women’s team.
“When the women’s program started, that was the start of Goody (Simon Goodwin) taking over and it’s been a build over time to get to the point of what they achieved this season,” Stinear said.
“But I think our women’s program will learn a lot from what the boys have done.”
This season could be the last for Pearce, 33, who is still chasing an AFLW premiership medal.
“She had a decision to make at the end of the season with two young kids and the workload she’s got, it’s a big commitment to sign up for another season,” Stinear said.
“We certainly don’t take that lightly … and we just want to make the most of this one I want to see her have her most successful and most enjoyable season yet and that would be ideal if that culminated with a grand final win.”
The new AFLW season starts in early January.
Originally published as AFLW: Latest news and updates ahead of the 2022 season
Injury-hit Demons stun Crows in Norwood thriller
Struck down by a host of injuries across their team, the Dees have managed to keep their AFLW season alive by pulling off a thrilling victory over the Crows.
AFLW players in ‘push’ for major change
A leading broadcaster says AFLW players are lobbying the league for a radical overhaul of the competition.